Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby, (4 December 1894 – 14 February 1967) was a Welsh politician and cabinet minister. The younger son of David Lloyd George, he served as Home Secretary from 1954 to 1957.

Background, education and military service

Born at Criccieth in North Wales, Lloyd George was the second son of Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George and his first wife,

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, daughter of Richard Owen. His sister

Megan Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

was also active in politics, but the two moved in opposite political directions – Gwilym to the right, towards the Conservatives, and Megan to the left, eventually joining the Labour Party. Educated at

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational independent school in the British public school tradition, for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson. Overv ...

and Jesus College, Cambridge, Lloyd George was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1914. In 1915 he became Aide-de-camp to Major-General Ivor Philipps, commander of the

38th (Welsh) Division The 38th (Welsh) Division (initially the 43rd Division, later the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division and then the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division) of the British Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. In 1914, the division w ...

. He transferred to the Anti-Aircraft branch of the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1916 and rose to the rank of Major, being known for most of his political career as Major Lloyd George. He was also

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

Early political career 1922–45

Leaving the army in 1918, Lloyd George found employment working with his father in the post war coalition government. This also included being a trustee for David Lloyd George's National Liberal Political Fund. Lloyd George was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

from 1922 to 1924 and again from 1929 to 1950. He was initially elected as a National Liberal, but then joined the re-united Liberal Party in 1923. In 1931, Lloyd George initially took ministerial office as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the

National Government A national government is the government of a nation. National government or National Government may also refer to: * Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions * Federal governme ...

Ramsay Macdonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

, but resigned when his father David Lloyd George withdrew his support from the government. Gwilym Lloyd George was subsequently a member of the Independent Liberal group from 1931 to 1935 who were opposed to the continuation of the National Government. This group then subsequently returned to the main Liberal Party following the 1935 general election. In 1939 Lloyd George joined

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...

's government for the same post he resigned from in 1931. From then on Lloyd George operated in effect as an independent Liberal. In 1941 he was appointed to the office of Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food and then Minister of Fuel and Power in 1942. Lloyd George stayed in the post until the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

It was after the death of his father in 1945 that Gwilym began hyphenating his surname as Lloyd-George.

Later political career, 1945 onwards

Following the 1945 general election in which he stood as a National Liberal and Conservative, and was returned by a majority of 168, Lloyd George was approached by the Liberal Party and its rival the Liberal National Party to chair their respective political organisations. Lloyd George turned them both down.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

offered him a position in the Conservative Party's Shadow cabinet but was allowed to remain as a 'Liberal'. In 1946 Lloyd-George formally lost the Liberal Party whip. From this point onwards he did not associate with his erstwhile Liberal colleagues (who included his sister Lady Megan) and he was openly supported by Conservatives in his constituency. In early January 1950 he was publicly disowned by the Liberal Party for supporting Conservative candidates in constituencies contested by a Liberal candidate. Lloyd-George lost his seat (standing again as a National Liberal and Conservative) in the 1950 general election. The Liberal Party did not field a candidate against him but this time Lloyd George lost to a Labour Party candidate Desmond Donnelly by 129 votes. His career in Welsh politics at an end, a year later Lloyd-George returned to parliament as a National Liberal for

Newcastle upon Tyne North Newcastle upon Tyne North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Catherine McKinnell of the Labour Party. History Parliament created this seat under the Representation of the People Act 191 ...

in the 1951 general election. His candidature was backed by Churchill although disgruntled Conservatives in the local party supported an independent against Lloyd George. Returning to office, Prime Minister

appointed him Minister of Food 1951–1954, and Home Secretary and

Minister for Welsh Affairs The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

from 1954 until his retirement in 1957. Lloyd-George was raised to the peerage as Viscount Tenby, of Bulford in the County of Pembroke, on 12 February 1957 and took his seat in the House of Lords on 27 February. In 1955, during his time as Home Secretary, he had refused to commute the death sentence imposed on

Ruth Ellis Ruth Ellis ( née Neilson; 9 October 1926 – 13 July 1955) was a British nightclub hostess and convicted murderer who became the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom following the fatal shooting of her lover, David Blakely. In her t ...

; she was the last woman to be executed in the UK.

Family

Lloyd George married Edna Gwenfron, daughter of David Jones, in 1921. They had two children: David Lloyd George, 2nd Viscount Tenby (1922–1983), and William Lloyd George, 3rd Viscount Tenby (born 1927). He died aged 72, and was succeeded by his eldest son, David. Lady Tenby died in 1971.

References

Sources

External links

*
David Lloyd George Exhibition, National Library of Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd George, Gwilym 1894 births 1967 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies

Gwilym Gwilym is a Welsh given name and surname, related to William, Guillaume, and others in a number of other languages. Given name: *Dafydd ap Gwilym (1315–1350), Welsh poet *Eurfyl ap Gwilym (born 1944), Welsh Plaid Cymru politician *Gwilym ab Ieua ...

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Pembrokeshire constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Parliamentary Secretaries to the Board of Trade People educated at Eastbourne College People from Caernarfonshire Royal Garrison Artillery officers Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Secretaries of State for the Home Department UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs who were granted peerages Younger sons of earls Viscounts created by Elizabeth II